Harry's Trek With a Borrower
by DaughterofHades16
Summary: Harry runs away from the Dursleys and finds himself in the middle of nowhere. he finds himself five inches tall and his only company is a strange girl, also five inches tall. the two of them must travel together to London. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

**The idea for this came to me at night, when I get my best ideas (: Anyway, it takes place in the summer between OOtP and tH-BP. 'oOo' is a change in point of view.**

"Expelliarmus!"

"Crucio!"

"Protego!"

"Avada Ke—"

"Stupefy!"

Lucius Malfoy, the Death Eater Harry'd just stupefied, fell unconscious.

_Five hours earlier…_

Harry lay in my small bed at the Dursley's, staring at the ceiling. He was sulking over the death of Sirius. Still.

What was the point anymore? What was the point of staying here?

Harry finally decided to leave. He packed my bag full of spare food and extra water. With his wand in his pocket, he pried open the window. He then opened Hedwig's cage, letting her out onto the roof. He slid off of the roof and onto the backyard lawn; Hedwig glided down and landed on his shoulder. He began walking.

Harry didn't know exactly where he was heading. He supposed he'd head to London. But very soon, he was surrounded by scenic nothing. Nothing but waist-high grass and a dead tree a few meters off. He looked up at the starry night sky, seeing a smoke formation that he knew all too well.

The Dark Mark.

From the mouth of theMark flew two black tendrils of smoke that flew straight down and landed on either side of Harry.

"Hedwig! Get out of here!" Harry shouted, drawing his wand. She flew off.

On Harry's right, Lucius Malfoy caught sight of Hedwig, raising his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry screamed, and a red beam of light caught Lucius on the shoulder. He turned to Harry.

"Crucio!"

They continued until Harry knocked Lucius unconscious. Harry turned his wand to the other Death Eater.

"It's just you and me now." Harry growled.

**oOo**

Jorgan Duran pointed his wand at Potter, trying to keep his hand steady. He was just a trainee and was in no way prepared for a one-on-one with Potter. His mind blanked and he didn't know what to do.

"Expelliarmus!" Potter cast. Jorgan dodged the spell, casting the first spell that popped into his head.

"Diminuendo!"

Harry was thrown back, landing hard on his back among the long grass. The wind was knocked out of him, and his bag and wand fell next to him. His vision became blurry, then everything went black.

**oOo**

Jorgan was dumbstruck. He didn't even know what that spell did.

Lucius groaned beside him, managing to his feet.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"I…I don't know. He seems to have disappeared." Jorgan stammered. Fear and anxiety began to rise in him.

Lucius scanned the area. "Come. Let's go back to the manor," Jorgan began to panic.

"The Dark Lord—"

"He doesn't have to know!" Lucius snapped, holding out his arm. "Besides, we'll see Potter again. We always do."

Jorgan nodded, taking his arm. Lucius dissapparated the both of them to Malfoy Manor.

**I know it's short, but it's kind of a prologue chapter, you know, to set the stage and get the basic gist of the story. Please review, tell me what you think, I promise that the next chapter will be longer.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Yay! Updating! And I'm nixing the 'oOo' thing, you'll know who it's talking about.**

Ember was woken up by voices and multicolored lights coming from outside. She crawled out of her bed, slipping on a jacket and shoes fashioned from mouse leather. She climbed in the dark through the trunk of the dead tree, emerging on a high branch. She didn't see anything.

She furrowed her brow, determined to check this out. She dropped to the ground, the tall grass hiding her. She gasped as a dark form flew overhead. It disappeared and Ember continued on.

Ember wandered the field for well near an hour. After a while, she ran into something large and hard. She squinted, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness.

As the sun started to peek above the horizon, she realized that it was a backpack. It belonged to a human. She walked around it, not taking her eyes off it. She tripped over a long stick, landing hard on her right knee. When she got back onto her feet, she noticed a figure off to the left. She ran to his side.

He had black hair, like hers. He also had…something…on his face, resting on his nose. He was obviously a borrower. He was also obviously unconscious. She grabbed his arm, draping it over her shoulder. She mentally complimented him on the quality of his clothes.

She brought him all the way back to her home. She laid him on her bed, and then went to another room to fetch him a cold compress.

Harry regained consciousness; his first realization was that he was lying on a bed. He opened his eyes. He was in a room that seemed to be carved into packed dirt. The walls were lined with leaves and grass pressed against it. The room was lit with what looked like a large birthday candle.

Like, _really_ large. It came up to his waist, and it was already partially melted.

Harry scrambled out of that bed, looking all around the room. Hair-like roots hung from the ceiling. He began to panic.

"You're awake," said a girl's voice behind him. He whirled around. A girl stood in a door-hole in the dirt held open with Popsicle sticks. She had long black hair that came down just below her shoulders, and she was practically dressed in rags. She held a dripping lump of cloth in her left hand.

Harry walked up to her, gripping her shoulders. He asked her a question that probably sounded ridiculous.

"How big am I?"

She measured him by comparing the tops of their heads.

"Well, you're about my height, so I suppose…five inches? Give or take a millimeter?"

Harry's jaw practically hit the dirt. "Five-fi-fiv-five…inches?" he stammered.

"Are you alright?" she asked, wrinkling her brow.

Harry began hyperventilating. He once again fell unconscious.

Ember sighed, tossing the cloth in her hand aside. She walked to her bedside nightstand, tying her hair into a ponytail with an orthodontic rubber band.

She sat down, examining his face to make sure he was still alive, which she was sure he was. She reached curiously for the…whatever-it-was on his face, taking it off him.

Ember turned it over in her hands, completely fascinated by it. She tried putting it on.

Everything turned blurry, and a large headache was triggered. She immediately took them off, allowing her vision to return to normal. Just then, the boy groaned and turned, waking up.

When Harry woke up, he was still on the ground. He felt his face; his glasses had been removed. He sat up. The same girl was fidgeting with them.

"Give me those back." Harry demanded, holding out his hand. She did, and he put them on. The lenses were smudged with the girl's fingerprints, so he removed them and began cleaning them with his shirt hem.

"What are they?" she asked as he put them back on.

Harry stared blankly at her. "Are you honestly telling me you don't know what glasses are?"

Looking uncomfortable, she nodded.

"They're glasses. They help me to see."

"No, they don't." she said. "I've tried them on, they made my vision worse."

"Well, my eyes don't work right," Harry explained. "These correct _my_ vision. Yours don't need correcting."

"What's your name?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

"I call myself Ember." She said simply.

"Where am I?" Harry asked, once again looking around.

"You're in my home. We're underground."

"No, I mean what country or city?"

"Erm…We're on the outskirts of London, I think a ways off from Surrey," she said uncertainly. "Can you stand?" she asked, getting up.

Harry stood, and the strange girl began wiping the dirt from his shoulder and back.

"Where did you get your clothes?" she asked him, admiring them in awe. "They're very fine for a borrower."

"A what?" Harry asked, making sure he heard her correctly.

"A borrower. That is what you are, isn't it?" Ember asked, sounding confused.

"No," Harry told her matter-of-factly, "I'm human."

Ember's eyes widened. She began to pace furiously, muttering to herself, saying things like: "Can't be true. How could I be so stupid?"

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

She stopped, facing Harry, but not looking directly at him. She started speaking very quickly. "This is terrible, I'm not supposed to be seen by you, and you're not supposed to be here, I shouldn't have led you here, but you were my size, how was I to know—"

"Calm down." Harry gripped her shoulders once again. Ember glared at Harry, her dark eyes burning into his.

"If you were your normal height, you'd have squished me as soon as looked at me." She thrust Harry's hands off her shoulders and exited the room.

Greatly confused, Harry followed her. "I would not! I don't even know what a borrower is!"

"That's how it's supposed to be!" she said over her shoulder, still rushing through the rooms.

They must have passed through several fire-lit rooms before coming into a dark passage. Ember began climbing through a hole in the low ceiling.

"I'm not a threat to you!" Harry called as he began climbing after her.

She reached a hole, crawling through it. Harry did the same.

The sunlight nearly blinded him. He shielded his eyes, realizing he was on a tree branch high above the ground. Ember was sitting near the base of the branch, not far from where he was. Harry walked over, trying not to fall off. He sat down next to Ember. She just kept staring into the distance.

"Look. I don't know what you problem is with humans, but I'm not here against you. I just want to get back to where things are familiar. Can you help me?"

She turned her glare to me. "Alright, I'll trust you for now, but I'll be watching you, human."

Harry shrugged. "Fair enough." He stood, helping her stand. "So, can you take me where you found me?"

Ember nodded, but asked, "What for?"

"I left my things there."

"Fine, but after this, you're on your own, human." She walked ahead of Harry back into the tree. He followed her again.

She went back to her room and grabbed a few things. She hung a long, sharp-looking pin from her belt and slung a bag over her shoulder. They set off, exiting through a hole in an exposed tree root.

It was a silent walk through the tall grass, which was now much, much taller than both of them. Harry finally broke the silence.

"I have so many questions," Harry stated.

"And I'm sure you do, human," Ember said snappishly. "I have a few questions as well, so we'll take turns, going back and forth. You start."

"Alright. What is a borrower?"

Ember eyed him, but answered. "We borrow things we need from humans. Hence the name."

"Ah. And you give them back." Harry guessed.

"Actually, no."

"So wouldn't that be stealing?" Harry asked.

"Not technically. My turn. Who are you?" she asked.

Harry briefly explained that he was a wizard and described his previous years at Hogwarts. Ember seemed more relaxed, as if she trusted Harry more, but not completely.

"Okay, my turn." Harry said. "Why are you all alone in that tree?"

Ember stopped walking, memories flooding back to her mind.

"It's…it's kind of a long story."

"Well, I've got time," Harry said.

"Okay. My mother, my father and I used to live in a house on the countryside, under the floor and in the walls, you know, like normal borrowers. My dad taught me to borrow when I was seven. Then, unexpectedly, he died. Mum took me under her wing until…well, she died, too. I ran away to fend for myself and found that tree. I'd lived there ever since. It's been eight years." She trailed off, lost in her own memories.

Harry nodded. "Okay, your turn," he said.

"Ah, I've got nothing. You go ahead," she said

"Why don't you like humans?"

"Oh, look, we're here!" Ember said loudly. Harry looked and saw the large mass that was his bag.

Ember ran up to it, looking excited. Harry just gaped up at it, not believing how large it was.

Ember found the opening. "Do you mind?" she asked, but before Harry could answer, she slipped in.

Harry walked around to the other side of his bag, finding his wand.

"This is going to be a problem."

Harry's wand was now much too big to lift. The thickness of the handle alone came up to his knees.

"There's enough food in here to last me a _month_." Ember exclaimed from within Harry's bag.

Harry sighed, bent down, and tried to lift his wand, with great difficulty.

Ember came out, smiling. "It's very roomy in there," she said. After seeing Harry, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Harry gave up, straightening. "This is mine, but it's too big for me to carry."

Ember shrugged. "If you need it, I'll carry it."

"How?" Harry asked. If he couldn't carry it, how could she?

She didn't answer him. She shrugged off her bag, opening it to its full extent. She set it on the ground, then picked up the thick handle of Harry's wand. "Grab the other end," she told him. he did, and she shoved her end into the bag.

It kept going into the bag, as if it was bottomless. After her end disappeared in the bag, she let go and held the bag open. "Keep pushing it," she instructed him. Harry pushed it until it disappeared into the bag.

Ember closed the bag and shouldered it. She grinned at Harry, seeing his flabbergasted expression.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"Magic," Ember said, winking at Harry. She turned around, once again ducking into Harry's knapsack.

Harry stood there, his head now reeling with questions.

"Hang on…" he muttered, following her in.

She had been right; it was very spacious in the bag. The jars and boxes of food and the bottles of water were now big enough for him to fit inside. Ember was trying to open a pack of peanut butter crackers.

"How is it that you can do magic?" Harry asked her, walking up to her.

"It's a gift," she said, still struggling with the plastic wrap.

"So, what, are you a witch?"

"Don't be silly, I'm a seer borrower," she said as if it was obvious.

"What's that?"

She gave up on opening the snack, and turned to me.

"A seer borrower," she started, "is a borrower who's different from the others. Most borrowers have red hair, but seer borrowers, who have different genes, have dark hair."

"Is that all?" Harry asked.

"Of course not," she said. "We can sometimes make odd things happen when we're mad or scared. Some of the more advanced seers, like my parents, learn how to channel their power. My mother charmed this bag for my father before they died."

"That's what witches and wizards do," Harry said slowly. "We learn to channel our magic. You _are_ a witch.

She furrowed her brow. "So are you saying that you can teach me how to do magic?"

"Well, not me. I'm still learning," Harry explained. "But I know people who could teach you. They're in London. So we're pretty much going the same place."

Ember thought about this. She really wanted to learn magic, but that would mean traveling with a human. She hated humans, even if this one was nicer than any she'd heard of. But it could still be a ruse.

"Well…" she said, "I do know the way to the city…"

"Great!" Harry exclaimed. "We can leave right away, if that's alright."

"Great." Ember said, sitting down and pulling a few canteens and bags out of her own bag. "Fill these with food and water; we're going to be walking for a long time. I'll be heading back, getting a few camping necessities."

"Wait, you're going to leave me here alone?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, but just for a minute. I won't be long." And with that, she shouldered her bag and left.

Harry opened the bags and filled them with as much food as I could fit in them and, with difficulty, filled the canteens. He waited after that, wondering what was taking Ember so long…

Ember went back to the tree, packing a makeshift tent, extra pins, and as many matches as she owned. She also packed sleeping bags, blankets, and a few pillows.

On the way back, the sun reached its peak, marking noon. She was walking back when a shadow flew over her. She looked up, and a large snowy owl landed a foot in front of her. She panicked, drawing her pin. The owl eyed her, as if trying to figure out what to think of Ember. Ember sidestepped around the owl, then ran back to the backpack. She only looked back once, and she saw the owl circling her tree.

Harry furrowed his brow when Ember came into the backpack, sweaty, panting, and out of breath.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Nothing! Give me those!" she said, grabbing the bags of food and canteens of water. She quickly shoved them into her bag. "We've got to leave. Now!"

"What's the problem?" Harry demanded. He walked toward the opening of the backpack, hoping to see what the matter was.

"No! Don't go out there!"

Harry ignored her, stepping into the sunlight. He scanned the horizon, his eyes stopping at the tree, where he saw something white circling the dead tree.

Harry's heart gave a joyous leap. "HEDWIG!" he called happily. He took off running in the direction of the tree.

Ember left her bag in Harry's pack, and ran after him. "Harry! You can't just go running about! You don't know what's out there!"

Harry ran and didn't stop until he reached the tree. Hedwig swooped down, seeming happy to hear his voice. He smiled widely, and was about to say something like, "I'm so happy to see you!" or, "You stayed!", but Ember jumped between them, wielding her pin.

"Get back, beast!" she screamed, and Hedwig spread her wings, making herself look enormous.

"What are you doing?" Harry demanded. "Hedwig's _my_ owl!"

Ember rounded on Harry. "This—this _beast_ is yours?"

"She's not a beast! And this is a good thing! She can give us a ride all the way to London, and save us the trouble of walking!" Harry told her.

"No! I am not riding _that_. We're walking. Come on. Let's go. You can bring _that_ with us if you want." She turned and stormed off. Harry followed her, and Hedwig took off, following him.

An hour later, they were walking in a seemingly random direction. The grass had receded, and they were walking on dirt. Hedwig was flying overhead.

Night fell, and they were both exhausted. They stopped to make camp. Harry and Ember set up the tent, but that was the only thing they did together. Ember built a fire, and huddled next to it while Harry took the tent. After a while, Harry decided to talk to her. He crawled out of the tent, looking over at Ember. She was hugging her knees, shivering next to the fire.

Harry walked over, sitting next to her. He shed his jacket, offering it to her.

"No, thanks," she snapped, glaring straight into the fire.

Harry sighed, setting his sweater down next to him.

"Okay, obviously there's a problem, and the problem isn't with me. What is your problem with humans?"

She bit her lip. "It's not…Humans and borrowers have never quite…gotten along," she started.

Harry nodded, listening intently and waiting for her to continue.

Ember sighed. "I don't know, really. My ancestors have always been afraid of humans—you know, on account of you being so much bigger than us. I've grown up being told stories of humans and how they were vicious, dangerous giants who would kill a borrower on sight."

"That's horrible!" Harry remarked.

"I know," Ember continued. "I never believed those stories. At least, not fully. They always seemed like a load of hogwash. But that was before my father died."

She paused, but Harry's silence told her that he wanted to hear more.

"I was seven, and he went up to go borrowing. There was a loud commotion coming from the humans above. Mother and I had to assume the worst, especially since he didn't come back that night. And then, once, I was caught borrowing, but I got away. However, the humans were smart. They figured out where we were living and found my mother."

"I'm sorry." Harry said. He didn't know what else to say.

"So you can see why I have a problem with humans."

"Well, I'm not like that. I would never hurt you, even if I was normal-sized."

Ember turned to Harry. "You promise?"

"Yeah. Now, what about Hedwig? You freaked out when you saw her." Harry looked up at Hedwig, who was sleeping a few feet over.

Raven shrugged. "I don't trust anything with wings that hunts. They're always stealing my mice."

"_Your_ mice?"

"I have to get food somehow, and if that means hunting down, cooking and eating rodents, then that's how it'll be."

"Right." Harry smiled. "I think we should put our differences aside, you know, and be friends."

Ember smiled back. "Sure." She stood, wiping the dirt off her pants legs. "Let's go to sleep. We've got a long walk ahead of us."


End file.
